Massive Machine Comes Together To Build Port Tunnel

(CBS4) Construction of the new $1 billion Port of Miami tunnel took a giant leap forward Sept. 1 when a critical piece of the giant Tunnel Boring Machine was raised into the air and then lowered into the ground.

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(CBS4) It's called the“cutter head” which is the most vital part of the tunnel boring machine and will carve the twin tunnels connecting Watson and Dodge Islands.

Port Tunnel Boring Machine 3

(CBS4) The 43-foot wide, four-story high mechanism was raised into the air by a special 800-ton crane and then lowered into the launching pit in its place as the head of the huge tunneling machine.

(CBS4) The entire $45 million boring machine, nicknamed Harriet, will be longer than a football field and about as tall as a four-story building.

Port Tunnel Boring Machine 7

(CBS4) Crews have been assembling the boring machine in a giant concrete pit in the middle of Watson Island ever since it arrived in parts back in June on a ship from Germany. The machine weighs more than 2,500 tons.

Port Tunnel Boring Machine 8

(CBS4) When the Tunnel Boring Machine is fully assembled in the launching pit, a dedication ceremony will take place and drilling under Government Cut to the Port of Miami will begin. Drilling is expected to begin in October.

Port Tunnel Boring Machine 9

(CBS4) The boring machine will dig about four feet an hour which should take it about 6 months to re-emerge at the port on Dodge Island.

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(CBS4) It will then be partly disassembled, turned around and re-assembled before boring out the separate return tunnel to Watson Island.

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(CBS4) The tunnel will consist of two tubes featuring two lanes each.

Port Tunnel Boring Machine 12

(CBS4) The tunnel will consist of two tubes featuring two lanes each.

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(CBS4) The project is supposed to ease traffic congestion from cargo trucks heading to the Port of Miami.

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(CBS4) Construction is expected to be complete by May of 2014.

Port Tunnel Boring Machine 15

(CBS4) When the twin-tube tunnel is completed in 2014, the Tunnel Boring Machine will be dismantled and removed from the site.